First I removed the intercooler and water pump and thermostat. I needed a coolant flush and the IC was full of bugs and sand. The WGA rod is buried bewteen the turbo and the block, and there is no way to get a wrench or crowsfoot in there to loosen the jam nut or turn the rod.

So I unbolted the WGA from the compressor housing. There are 2xM8 bolts with 12mm heads that hold a bracket. Once that's loose, you can maneuver the WGA rod into a position to get a 10mm open end wrench on the jam nut to loosen it up. Before going any further, I put my handy Mityvac vacuum pump with gauge onto the hose and checked the WG position at 200mbar vacuum (approx 5.9inHg). Manually pulling the WGA away from the compressor housing, I could see the WGA rod was too long by about 4-5 mm! No wonder my WGs rattled like a bitch!!

So how do you turn the WGA rod? It's pretty stiff in the WGA even after loosening the jam nut. I removed the 3xM6 10mm nuts that hold the WGA to the bracket (the one that has 2xM8 bolts that hold it to the compressor). Then I took the vacuum hose off and spun the whole WGA dashpot around about 5 turns. I put all the 3 nuts and 2 bolts back together and popped the vacuum hose back on. Rechecked with the Mityvac, and I can get the WG to be completely shut (rod doesn't move, has no play and a tiny bit of preload on it) at 200mbar vacuum. Whew!

Got it together late last night then beat on it to make sure I didn't do something stupid. Good news: NO RATTLE. I'm so happy Took me every bit of 5 hours start to finish.

I'm interested in your calibration steps.
The body shop has to pull my motor for body repairs and it would be perfect to do it while its out

Yes, it will be 100x easier with the engine (or even just the turbo) out.

Pull 200mbar of vacuum (approx 5.9inHg) on the wastegate actuator. With the downpipe off, you should just barely be able to spin the coin-sized wastegate valve with your fingers - should be tight but not too tight.

With the setup in the car, you have to go by feel of how hard the WGA is pulling on the rod and lever arm. I did not pull the downpipes off to try spinning the wastegate valve by hand, but I believe I got very close to the spec setting. It was a damn sight closer than before I adjusted it, that's for sure!

I had been working on a few other customers' 335s recently, and I was irritated by how quiet their WGs were compared to mine - and we all have about the same miles on our cars. That's what prompted the "wild hair up my ass" at quitting time yesterday afternoon. I decided to just give it a try, and by 11PM I was buttoned up and ready to test drive.

With the correct wrench you can loosen the jam nut. Pull the dps and take the clip off the wastegate pin to remove the actuator from it and adjust it that way. I guess if you need to do other things, your way works. It's a little labor and parts removal intensive compared to what is possible, but congrats on getting it done.

Yeah, tried that. It's at an angle that didn't allow me to pick it off with my long mechanics pick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by David1

It's only a temporary fix. If it was that loose, the wastgate rod shaft in the turbo is worn and/or the spring in the actuator is bad also.

Thanks, Debbie Downer. I checked the shaft that goes into the turbos, and there was a little play but not severe. The actuators were fine. If it sticks, I have an aftermarket warranty until 100k miles anyway, and after that, this car will be a dedicated track/race car at that point anyway. Single turbo time at that point!

Greatest thing is that there is NO rattle anymore except when the system closes fully to produce boost - throttle tip in. You can only hear it with the windows down driving next to parked cars/walls/etc, and it's only for a split second. No more "clatter-clatter-clatter" when lifting the throttle just driving around parking lots and garages.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sashmanparker

nice work james...greetings from aruba see you in a month or so...neeed that meth

Can you redo it again and make a DIY step by step guide?... please with pictures for dummies like us...

Had several other 335s in the shop (just did a PPI for a new customer on a good used one from CarMax) but none of them have the rattle. If I sucker, uh, I mean convince a customer to have us do it, I'll be sure to take more pics. I was doing it alone in the shop on Fri night.

First I removed the intercooler and water pump and thermostat. I needed a coolant flush and the IC was full of bugs and sand. The WGA rod is buried bewteen the turbo and the block, and there is no way to get a wrench or crowsfoot in there to loosen the jam nut or turn the rod.

So I unbolted the WGA from the compressor housing. There are 2xM8 bolts with 12mm heads that hold a bracket. Once that's loose, you can maneuver the WGA rod into a position to get a 10mm open end wrench on the jam nut to loosen it up. Before going any further, I put my handy Mityvac vacuum pump with gauge onto the hose and checked the WG position at 200mbar vacuum (approx 5.9inHg). Manually pulling the WGA away from the compressor housing, I could see the WGA rod was too long by about 4-5 mm! No wonder my WGs rattled like a bitch!!

So how do you turn the WGA rod? It's pretty stiff in the WGA even after loosening the jam nut. I removed the 3xM6 10mm nuts that hold the WGA to the bracket (the one that has 2xM8 bolts that hold it to the compressor). Then I took the vacuum hose off and spun the whole WGA dashpot around about 5 turns. I put all the 3 nuts and 2 bolts back together and popped the vacuum hose back on. Rechecked with the Mityvac, and I can get the WG to be completely shut (rod doesn't move, has no play and a tiny bit of preload on it) at 200mbar vacuum. Whew!

Got it together late last night then beat on it to make sure I didn't do something stupid. Good news: NO RATTLE. I'm so happy Took me every bit of 5 hours start to finish.

Sorry for stupid question but what was the issue and what led you to adjustment.

I adjusted my rear wastegate with the mityvac and it was pretty easy. I then checked the front wastegate and with 20 in hg. it wouldn't close all the way. So now I'm ripping the rest of the car apart to adjust the front. ugghhh.. James was right this is a CHORE!!!

I, too, just did this today. What a job! I was changing out my coolant pump and thermostat so decided to do this while I had access. Needless to say, I spent most of my day on this portion and need to finish up with the thermostat this weekend. I hope it helps.

OP,

When you finished, did your WG shaft have any play left? Mine has just the smallest amount still, but its REALLY close to perfect compared to how it was.

No need to do this since bmw will simply replace the wastegates and/or turbos for free under the new recall.

Not necessarily. I'm at 82.5k miles. Also, just because they rattle, doesn't mean they will replace the turbos. A faulty wastegate has to cause failure to the turbo itself if I recall. Plus, the nearest BMW dealer is 5hrs from me and I have a service contract good until 125k.